Wash and clean
the kokums. Cut them into half. Mix the kokums and sugar in a dry
bowl. Place this mixture in a dry glass jar. Let this sit in the sun
for 15 days. A red syrup should form. Drain out the kokum sugar syrup.
Add cumin powder, black salt and salt and stir well. Adjust sugar if
needed.

To make Kokum
Sarbat :

In a glass pour
1/4th cup of Kokum concentrate. Top it up with ice cold water. Mix
well. Serve
chilled.

What is Kokum ?

Aamsool or Kokum
is a fruit which resembles a dark purple plum of a tropical evergreen tree
called Garcinia indica. This grows only in India. It is halved and
dried. It is available in
the dried form and it is dark purple to black, sticky and with curled
edges resembling a thick plum skin. When added to food it imparts a
pink to purple color and sweet as well as a sour taste.

Among the major
uses of kokum in Indian cooking are, as a garnish for curries and in the preparation of
cooling syrups like the "Koakam Sarbat" or Kokum drink.

Kokum
has been known to counter acidity and indigestion. In India it is used
only in the regional cuisines of Gujarat, Maharashtra and several
southern states

How to use Kokum
?

Similar to
tamarind, kokum skins are used to add a certain kind of sourness to a
dish. Kokum skins are usually infused in hot water and left to soak to
become soft. The soft kokum skins are used whole to flavor a dish and
the skins are removed before serving. The deeper the color the
better the kokum.

The skins are
not usually chopped but are added whole to the dish. Seasoning should
be checked as they are quite salty as they are stored in a salt solution
and set aside to cure. Beware of biting on a stone as a few are often
left in the skins.

Kokum
especially enhances coconut-based curries or vegetable dishes like
potatoes, okra or lentils. Kokum is especially used with fish curries,
three or four skins being enough to season an average dish. It is also
included in chutneys and pickles.

It will keep in
an airtight jar for about a year.

Kokum which is
grown along the Konkan coast in Konkan, Malabar and Kanara regions of
Western Maharashtra.